Tredyffrin Considering a 5.5% Tax Hike

Tredyffrin Township's Board of Supervisors is being asked to consider raising township property taxes by 5.5% in the proposed 2013 township budget.

The increase amounts to an average $28 per property owner according to the preliminary budget outlined in a public meeting last Wednesday.  A copy of that budget presentation is attached to this article as a pdf.

Township budget officials say the tax hike is needed to maintain services in the face of a flat and "built out" real estate market. What that means in layman's terms is that property reassesments reducing the tax base and that there is lilttle room left in the township to build new properties that could increase the tax base. The result is a need to get more money out of the properties that already exist.

Community Matters and TE Patch Blogger Pattye Benson has written extensively about the proposal, the issues involved and the public's questions that resulted in the scheduling of an unusual 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning public meeting on the budget proposal. You can read her blog post here.